MINNEAPOLIS — A number of deployment ceremonies will be held throughout Minnesota to honor members of a 34th Red Bull Infantry Division brigade that’s heading to Iraq.

The First Brigade Combat Team will leave at the end of May to join Operation New Dawn. The deployment is scheduled to last one year.

According to a Minnesota National Guard news release, the soldiers will be responsible for base management, as well as ensuring the security of troops and supplies transported by convoys. The 2,400-soldier brigade will be headquartered in Camp Arifjan, with smaller units throughout Kuwait.

There will be a total of 25 ceremonies around Minnesota throughout May and into the beginning of June.

Army Lt. Col. Michael Wickman says this is the second largest Minnesota National Guard deployment since World War II.